I am a hopeless romantic, sentimental to a fault. I find stories in everything and anything, from receipts to stamps and old grocery lists. little parts of strangers lives, seemingly insignificant. but a little thread, a connection to a bigger picture. see.. hopeless romantic.

i don't see any of these as negative traits, i like the stories, i like seeing more than most, i like holding on to things,

but I spent 2016 learning to be brave, so now i'm trying a different kind of bravery, a new challenge, a new story - the art of letting go.

here's the plan - i'm going to let go of as much as I can; my art, my books, my thoughts, my things. things that matter to me. but i'm going to hold onto the stories. because that's what really matters in the end, all the stories. maybe a little part of me is hoping some of them will find their way back to me, because imagine the romance of that.

ONE.

Books seem to change my world as nothing else can, in 2015 it was "Brightside" by Kim Holden, I practised damn hard and learnt to forgive quicker and more fully than before. This year it was "words in deep blue" by cath crowley. One of the most beautiful books i've read, ever. So much more than "Girl meets boy", more than tragedy and growing up, it was just more.

I adored it, it's got folded down corners, underlined passages, and love letters tucked inside. i've told anyone who'll listen how wonderful the story is, but for now it sits on my bookshelf, quiet, dusty, but there.

i think it deserves more than that, so i'm letting it go. sending it away, for someone else to read, to live in, to write in, to tuck little notes inside of and then send it on, to someone else, to love and adore, to become a story, a seemingly insignificant connection between strangers, but a connection none the less.

So now I need you, I need you who loves books, and stories and strangers as much as I do. I need you, so I can send you my books, and things, and stories and you can read them, and fall in love and pass them on too. If you'd like to be a part of this project - please contact me via direct message on instagram - @paperedthoughts.